Going Home on Thanksgiving

We were so excited to get to go home on Thanksgiving. We had a lot to be thankful for this year...a healthy baby girl! We bought a cute pink dress for her "going home outfit". It was a little big on her, but we put it on anyway. As you can see, she was not a fan of getting dressed, but we managed to get it on her anyway.
Getting her in the car seat was quite the challenge. We didn't realize how difficult all of those buckles could be! We got the nurse to check it to make sure we did it properly before heading downstairs though!The proud daddy carried Haley downstairs as I was rolled in a wheelchair by Nurse Heather. (Yes, I was mad I had to be carted downstairs, but I didn't have a choice so didn't complain too much!) Mike couldn't resist putting up the Georgia flags to fly on the car for Haley's first ride home. It was pretty funny.
We got her snapped in the car and headed home! It was such a weird feeling going home for the first time. When we got home Weston and Nina had made us a sign welcoming her home. It had a cute pink pig balloon tied to it. Out of habit, Mike pressed the garage door opener. Up goes the sign and the pig and off flies the pig. I decided to make a funny out of the situation and say "when pigs fly, Mary Ann will bring home a baby!" Once we were in the house we decided to take her for a tour. She loved her new room! We were glad to be home with our little bundle of joy!

Visitors

Aunt Becky, Uncle Bruce, and Big Cousin Jackson weren't able to make it the day that Haley arrived, but they made the trip up before we left the hospital. I was so glad they were able to be there to see Haley! Unfortunately we weren't able to let Jackson in the room to be near Haley since she was a newborn and it is cold/flu season, but he still got to see her from afar. I think he was very confused of what this little person was, but it was still really cute to see the look on his face.
Joelle and Emily came to visit while we were in the hospital. Emily brought the cutest snoring pig. I know Haley will love it when she gets older. Arch came later that afternoon. It was sweet of him to take time to come with all that is going on at work right now. I will miss work, but am looking forward to some time with Haley over the next few weeks.
Blane came to visit in the hospital as well. He was so nice to take some photos for me. I know Haley will be working on her smile over the next few weeks so that she can be perfect for her professional photographer!Uncle Andy is enjoying his new niece. Once we got home, Mom, Pops, and Andy came over the day after Thanksgiving to visit and have lunch. Grandma and Grandpa P came again the next weekend. I think they can't get enough of her! :) Nina brought Clayton over for a play date the other day. Although they couldn't get close, it mostly was just a huge relief to talk to a recent mom about new mom issues for a few minutes. They are so sweet.

My mom came back up this week to spend a few days with her after Mike went back to work. It was so nice to have her here to help so that I could have some company and someone to help out. I was sad to see her go again, but we will see them again soon for Christmas.

Jennifer Broun and Katie Woodall also came by to visit and brought us dinner! It was so great to see good friends! They loved Haley and she just slept the entire time they were visiting!

We are so blessed to have so many friends and family that care for us and visit us!

Haley's Grand Entrance to the World

We still can't believe Haley is here. She just couldn't wait to get into this world and meet everyone. We had a feeling she would come early, but no one was more surprised Tuesday morning than me when I woke up and my water had broken. Fortunately I was not feeling any pain yet so we were able to take our time and finish getting everything together that we had on our list to take to the hospital. We had most of the stuff together, but were not fully prepared.

By the time we got to the hospital around 7:00, they said I was already 3 cm. They hooked me up to the monitors and said that I was definitely having the baby that day. To keep my mind off of what was going on, I decided to send some text messages and emails for work. Everyone thought I was stupid for working, but it helped me keep my mind off of things. Around 10am I started getting really uncomfortable and decided to get the epidural. That was when the text messages ended! Boy was the epidural a blessing! The nurse assisting with the delivery was so sweet. Her name was Kara. Dr. Murthy was on call that day and did an excellent job of coaching me through the delivery process. Mike (AKA "Coach") was so excited he was all smiles in the delivery room. He did a great job of trying to keep me distracted and encouraging me through the process. I think he was a little disappointed that he worked so hard to learn breathing techniques and how to time contractions but since I was doing well on pain management early on and my water broke first, he didn't have to do either. He still was the best coach a girl could ask for! My mom was in there as well and I am so glad she got to share the special moment when Haley arrived.


Haley weighed 6 lb. 9 oz. and was 19.25 inches long. She was born at 4:10pm on November 25, 2008. Mike thought it was pretty funny all of the "10's" we kept seeing (Mike's baseball number was 10). We were in room 3110, she was born at 4:10, and I was in labor for 10 hours. Pretty funny coincidence.








Most all of the family made it for the big day. It was so special to have everyone there with us. We are so blessed to have wonderful families.

We are still adjusting to life with a newborn and trying to get her on a schedule. She is a very good baby though. She looks so much like Mike in so many ways. Only thing we see of me in her yet is maybe her ears and possibly her nose. It is pretty cute though that she is taking after her daddy.

More updates to come of her first pediatrician appointment and some other random shots of her first week in this world. Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers as we adjust to this precious gift.

The Nursery

We are still continuing to get things to go in Haley's nursery so that it is fully "stocked" and ready for her arrival. I thought I would share a few pictures taken recently in the nursery for those of you who wanted an additional "sneak peak" of our progress. Only a few more things left to go and it is done!

Mike put his artistic talents to work and created this adorable artwork for Haley's room. We now have it framed and on the wall. It looks so good!

Still so much to do...

There is still so much left to do before Haley gets here! I thought I was prepared at home, but as we keep getting gifts, I realize more and more how we don't have stuff as organized as it probably should be. We are getting close though so that is a relief. Now if I could just get close at work, I would be a happy girl!

Mike practiced putting together the pack n' play so that we know how to set it up for those first few nights when Haley is home. It was a lot harder than we thought it would be, but we finally figured it out!

Mike had a fun time folding all of her clothes and trying to figure out which type of outfit was a onesie, a footed sleeper, or a two piece. It was pretty funny.

It has been quite a challenge trying to figure out where to put all of her clothes! I have no idea how to organize the drawers so that it makes sense. We finally just decided to put them in there and when she gets here we know we will likely have to move things.

Mike's Work Surprise Shower

Everyone at Danker pulled a good one on the dad-to-be and threw a shower last week. They had a cute cake, balloons, and a ton of presents for us. Everyone chipped in and got something to donate to the basket. We got tons of stuff for Haley that we can't wait to use...homemade hair bows, bottles, car seat toys, clothes, a tummy play mat, safety products, you name it! We even got a pair of pink Georgia booties! It was really sweet of them to think of us.

Hometown Shower

It was so great to be around family and friends for the Bainbridge shower on October 25. We are so blessed to have such a loving family that was willing to put on an awesome shower for us! Mama and Becky did so much to make it special for us.
I was so happy Grandma Davis was there to share the special day.

My sister did the neatest thing!! She made a diaper wreath for us that has a sign in the center where you write the baby's birth weight, length, etc. She spent a lot of time working on it and it turned out so good! Her friend Jackie helped her on it too. I can't wait to get it hung on Haley's door and get to fill in the information when she is born! Aunt Becky Rocks!

We had a ton of food! It was pretty neat because the lady that did the food for our wedding was the one who did the food for the shower. It was yummy and we had a lot of leftovers. And look what a great job she did of displaying it!

Look at all the presents for our spoiled little girl! We got some really neat stuff. Lots of diapers which will be useful, some cute outfits, and a high chair. Mom Judy, Pops, and Lorie came early to deliver their gifts on their way to the FSU game. So we were glad to get to see them while we were home.

It was a great weekend but I was kind of sad to go because I don't plan on taking another trip South for several more weeks. One thing is for sure, it will definitely be a different holiday season this year for the Parsons household!